The disclosure relates to refers to digitally encoded cards. More particularly, the disclosure relates to digitally encoded cards that are capable of scanning and storing biometric information.
Digitally encoded or “smart” cards are currently used in a variety of applications ranging from telephone calling, electronic cash payments, user identification, and the like. Like non-encoded cards, however, such smart cards are susceptible to theft and fraud, due to the fact that authenticating data for these cards is stored in systems or repositories that are accessible to others through hacking.
While biometric information is effective in confirming or establishing the identity of a user, its use is limited due to the lack of infrastructure needed to process such applications. In addition, smart cards are currently made of flexible (i.e., low modulus) plastic materials. Such flexibility allows the card to be bent, causing damage to internal sensors or microprocessors.